COOKIE POLICY

Last Updated: October 23, 2026

Rooted History (rootedhistory.io) is operated by Rooted Security LLC.

We use two first-party cookies: one to keep you signed in, and one to remember your language.

| Cookie Name | Purpose | Type | Duration | Attributes |

|------------------|-----------------------------|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------------|

| `rooted_session` | Keeps you signed in. Also set briefly when you start signing in, to protect the sign-in. | First-party, essential | Kept by your browser for up to 24 hours after your last visit. We stop accepting it after 60 minutes without activity or 24 hours after you sign in, whichever comes first. | HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Lax |

| `locale` | Remembers the language you pick so pages load in it. Set only when you choose a language. | First-party, functional | 1 year | SameSite=Lax; holds only a language code such as "es" |

What the session cookie does

• Remembers that you signed in with FamilySearch
• Lets you move between pages without signing in again
• Stops working after 60 minutes without activity, or 24 hours after you sign in. Signing out removes it from your browser.
• Holds your account number and your FamilySearch sign-in token (encrypted). It never holds your name, email, or family tree.

What our cookies never do

• Follow you to other websites
• Contain your name, email, or family tree data
• Get shared with any third party
• Get used for advertising

Your browser keeps these cookies after you close it (the sign-in cookie for up to a day, the language cookie for a year after you choose a language). To remove them sooner, sign out or clear your cookies.

We do NOT use

• Analytics cookies (Google Analytics, PostHog, etc.)
• Advertising or retargeting cookies
• Social-media pixels or trackers
• Third-party cookies on our public pages

Payments happen on Stripe's own checkout page, which has its own cookie policy. The maps on the signed-in Explore and Games pages are provided by Google Maps. Your browser connects to Google directly to load them, so Google receives your IP address and the map requests under the Google Privacy Policy.

Cookieless analytics

We count page views with Plausible Analytics, which sets no cookies, does not track you across sites, and collects no personal data. It only gives us aggregate numbers, such as how many people visited the pricing page.

When you're signed in, we also record how the app is used (for example, which biographies are opened) so we can improve it. These records are linked to your account through the sign-in cookie and stay with us. They are never shared for advertising.

Other storage in your browser

The app also keeps a few items in your browser's local and session storage: your preferences (such as language and display settings), work in progress (such as a question you're waiting on, or the page to return to after signing in), and a random ID for each browser tab that groups the usage records described above. None of it is used for advertising or shared with third parties. Clearing your browser's site data removes it.

Legal classification

The `rooted_session` cookie is strictly necessary for the Service to function. The `locale` cookie is set only when you choose a language and stores nothing but that choice. Both are exempt from consent requirements under the ePrivacy Directive, GDPR, PECR (UK), and similar laws.

Your choices

• Block or delete the sign-in cookie → you can't sign in (public pages still work)
• Block or delete the language cookie → pages show in your browser's language
• Private/incognito mode → both are deleted when you close the window

How to delete or block them

Use your browser's cookie settings. Blocking the sign-in cookie simply signs you out.

Changes

If we ever add a non-essential cookie we will update this policy, display a consent banner, and ask for your permission first.

Questions?

Email privacy@rootedsecurity.io

Summary: A sign-in cookie and a language cookie. Cookieless page-view counts. Zero ads. Zero data sale.